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Molalla council exempts sludge-removal work from bid process, authorizes direct award to ROTC Inc.
Summary
The Molalla City Council unanimously approved Resolution 2026-08 to exempt a sludge-removal public-improvement project from the formal invitation-to-bid process and directly award the work to ROTC Incorporated, a move staff said will save roughly $2–3 million and accelerate project closeout to early 2028.
The Molalla City Council on March 11 adopted Resolution 2026-08 to exempt sludge removal at the city wastewater treatment plant from the formal invitation-to-bid process and authorize a direct contract award to ROTC Incorporated.
City staff told the council the sludge removal for Lagoon 1 had been dropped from an earlier bid because the work proved difficult for bidders; a subsequent rebid produced a lower-than-expected price and created an opportunity to fold Lagoon 1 into the existing Phase 1 contract. Staff said combining the work avoids a separate mobilization, reduces unit costs through economies of scale and would shorten the project schedule by about two years — moving the project closeout from 2030 to early 2028.
"We will be done with sludge removal," the staff presenter said, adding that the contract amendment will bring the project to just under $7,000,000 and that, if the city instead completed the work in a separate Phase 2, staff estimated an additional $2 million to $3 million in expense. Council members asked whether Lagoon 2 would be included; staff confirmed Lagoon 2 was already part of the contract and that the change applies primarily to Lagoon 1.
If the council approved the resolution, staff said, a change order had been drafted and contracts could be adjusted within about two weeks, subject to paperwork and administrative steps. The council held a public hearing on the item, received no public testimony, and then moved, seconded and approved the resolution by roll call vote, recorded as six ayes, zero nays.
The resolution authorizes staff to use the exemption procurement method recommended by the city attorney and to proceed with the direct award to ROTC Incorporated to complete sludge removal. The council did not amend the motion and provided no conditions beyond those included in the staff report.
Next steps: staff will finalize the change order and return any required contract documentation to complete the direct award; the city expects contract adjustments to be finalized in roughly two weeks, pending administrative processing and contractor acceptance.
